Line and surface level



F. B. HALL.

LINE AND SURFACE LEVEL. APPLICATJON HLED JULY 22, 1920.

1 ,369,652. Patented Feb. 22, 1921..

10 W o 0 J70 fi 7." ram Ex UNETEQ STATES FRANK BARR HALL, or GENEVA, omo.

LINE AND SURFACE LEVEL.

Specification of Letters Patent. I Patented Feb. 22, 1921.

Application filed July 22, 1920. Serial no. 398,177.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK B. HALL, a citizen of the United States of America, and resident of Geneva, county of Ashtabula. and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Line and Surface Levels, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates broadly to spirit levels, and it has for its primary object to provide a structurally improved form of level which is equally adapted for use as a line level or a surface level.

further object is to provide a level which has supporting lugs or hangers whereby it is suspended from a line, said lugs or hangers being so arranged that chance disengagement of the device from a stretched line is effectually prevented.

WVith these and other objects in view, the invention resides in the features of'construction which will hereinafter be described, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of the invention employed as a line level;

Fig. 2 is a similar view, showing the invention employed as a surface level;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail view partly in sectional'elevation;

Fig. 4 is an end elevation; and Fig. 5 is a partial longitudinal sectional elevation.

Referring to said drawings, in which like designating characters distinguish like. parts throughout the several views 1 indicates a metal casing or tube, pref-- erably of aluminum, which is preferably of cylindrical form interiorly and which is exteriorly of octagonal or other suitable polygonal shape. Fixed in a bed 3 of a suitable cementitious material, as plaster of Paris, incased in the tube 1 is a spirit tube 2 of which the central top portion is exposed to view through an orifice 4 provided in the upper side of said tube for rendering visible the air bubble 5;

Attached, as by rivets 6, to opposite sides of the tube or casing 1 adjacent to each end thereof are the body portions 7, of a pair of oppositely disposed hangers which comprise said body portions, shaped to conformably embrace the casing, and upwardly andtransversely directed hooks 8. The hooks at each end of the casing are reversely arranged and constitute a closely associated pair upon which said end may be supported from a line, as 9 in Fig. 1.

. The ends of-the casing-are closed by circular caps 10 of concavo-convex form which are forced within said ends and are held in place by having the metal at the inside edges of the casing ends spun inward over the edges'ofthe caps, as shown at 11 in Fig.5.

In practice,'the device may be utilized in the manner of ordinary forms of surface levels, the same being adapted to have its fiat under side rest upon surfaces to be leveled, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4; or it may be used as a line level with the two airs of hooks 8 engaged with a line. To attach the level to a line, the latter must. be entered between the companion hooks 8 at one end while occupying a position at approximate right angles to the axis of thelevel, after which it is swung around parallel to the tube to dispose said hooks in overlying relation thereto; and the same operation is 7 required to engage the hooks at the opposite end with the line. So mounted, practically no amount of jiggling of the line and no amount of bumping or jarring to which the level may be subjected will result in the latter becoming detached.

It will be noted that the device is extremely simple and compact in its construction and light in weight, rendering it ad: mirably adapted for carrying in the pocket when not, in use.

What is claimed is 1. A combination line and surface level comprising a casing having a fiat under side and provided with an orifice in its upper side, a spirit tube mounted within said casing and visible through said orifice, and

a pair of hangers attached to said casing adjacent to each end of the latter, each pair of hangers embodying closely associated companion hooks disposed in reverse relation.

2. A. combination line and surface level comprising a casing having a fiat under side and provided with an orifice in its upper side, a spirit tube mounted within said casing and visible through said orifice, and a' comprising a casing having its exterior of polygonal form providing flat top and bottransverse to the axis of said caslng.

4. A combination line and surface level comprising a caslng having its exterior of "polygonalform providing flat top and bottom surfaces, said casing having a sight orifice in the upper central part thereof, a spirit tube mounted within said casing and visible through said orifice, and a pair of hangers attached to said casing adjacent to each end thereof, each hanger embodying a body portion conformably embracing a side of said casing and an upwardlyand transversely directed hook, the {hooks of each pair being reversely disposed and arranged in contiguous relation with an intermediate narrow space adapted to admit of the introduction of a line only when the latter is disposed approximately transverse to the axis of said casing.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

FRANK BARR HALL.

Witnesses G. H. COWDERY, C. I. BRAKEMAN. 

